4000 Kwacha - Elizabeth II Coelacanth Fish

The coelacanth became one of the twentieth century's most dramatic zoological stories when a living specimen was hauled up off the South African coast in 1938 — a fish believed extinct for 65 million years. A second distinct population was discovered off Sulawesi in 1997, reigniting scientific interest just years before this coin was issued. Zambia has no coastline and no native coelacanth population, making this a purely commemorative subject with no domestic ecological connection.